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Capital in the Twenty-First Century MP3 CD – Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged

by Thomas Piketty (Author), Arthur Goldhammer (Translator)

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What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.

Piketty shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality―the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth―today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, Piketty says, and may do so again.

A work of extraordinary ambition, originality, and rigor, Capital in the Twenty-First Century reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

Capital in the Twenty-First Century [Audiobook,MP3 Audio,Unabridged]

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Product Details

MP3 CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio; MP3 Una edition (June 17, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1491534656
ISBN-13: 978-1491534656
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,672 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Comparative
- #39 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Income Inequality
- #159 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Theory

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A truly unique work for this generation

By Aguadito on April 24, 2014

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

EDIT: I would like to point out that it is ridiculous that literally all of the 1-star reviews (except for one that I counted) for this book are from people who did not purchase the book or even read it. It looks like there was some kind of invasion from April 22nd of right-wingers who were told this book is "communist" or something to make a 1-star vote just to bring down the rating of the book. Amazon should not allow this kind of manipulation, and should limit reviews only to those who are verified customers that purchased this book.

If I could give more than 5 stars I would. As a former Libertarian who realized the path quickly leads to oligarchy with such an ideology, Piketty's book is a wonderful reminder of just how wrong I was back then.

The empirical work he has done in assembling the income and wealth concentration for countries is simply invaluable. We have some data like gini and labor vs. capital income, but to meticulously collect and analyze specific percentiles of income and wealth in many nations is truly groundbreaking. No longer can people who deny the inequality we have in the United States. No longer can people deny that we are in a new gilded age. The regulatory capture in our wild west capitalism has led to outright corruption being "legalized", and the politicians merely keep deregulating, cutting taxes, cutting spending on public programs.

Piketty not only provides the important data, and the historical context and analysis, but makes some very clear policy prescriptions. Tax inheritances, get some sane corporate governance standards to stop the insane overpaying of executives, and strengthen public institutions that provide opportunity to the masses.

Remember, the r in r>g is AFTER TAX.Read more ›

929 Comments 1,952 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

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An important book (in both the English and French senses of the word)

By A. J. Sutter on March 17, 2014

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

This is a monumental work about inequality. Despite the title's allusion to Marx's classic (a point emphasized by the dust jacket design), it's neither a primarily theoretical nor a primarily polemical work, though it has elements of both theory and advocacy. Nor is its author (TP) a radical: he taught at MIT, and is thoroughly at home in the concepts and categories of mainstream neoclassical theory. Nonetheless, I think even many who hold less orthodox views about economics will find this book stimulating, valuable and sympathetic in many respects. And all readers ought to find it disturbing.

In the ultra-long comments below, I begin with the book's audience and style (§ 1); then turn to some of the book's main arguments, which are more nuanced than usually reported (§§ 2-6); then to some things that are unclear or missing (§§ 7-8); and I end with some comments about the book's production (§ 9) and some concluding remarks.

1. In the original French edition, TP says that he intended this book to be readable for persons without any particular technical knowledge. In principle, it could be read by a broad, college-educated audience. TP's prose is very clear and direct, with a low density of jargon and a high density of information. (I read the French edition, but Arthur Goldhammer's translation seems to preserve these qualities very well.) The discussion is enlivened by well-chosen references to literature and a sprinkling of sarcastic barbs, both of them techniques that French scholars have developed into art forms (if not as elegant as John Kenneth Galbraith's irony).Read more ›

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A relentless drive toward inequality

By Adam on March 11, 2014

Format: Kindle Edition

Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" is a brilliant analysis of the long term distribution of income and wealth. The book draws on reams of data from the United States and numerous other countries. Most of the data comes from income tax records and estate tax/inheritance records. The sheer quantity of data that underlies Piketty's conclusions is unprecedented, and as a result his work deserves a great deal of credibility.

While the book is quite long, the major conclusion can be summarized very briefly: Piketty has found that, over the long run, the return on capital is higher than the growth rate of the overall economy. In other words, accumulated and inherited wealth becomes a larger fraction of the economic pie over time. This happens more or less automatically, and there is no reason to believe this trend will change or reverse course. Although Piketty does not focus on it, there is also an argument that modern technologies like robotics and AI could accelerate the process even more. (For more on this, I'd suggest also reading The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future).

Piketty argues that the reduction in inequality in developed countries after World War II was a "one-off" that was driven entirely by political choices and policies. It did not happen automatically. Those policies have now been largely reversed, especially in the United States. As a result the drive toward increased inequality is likely to be relentless.

Piketty's solution is a global wealth tax. While this seems politically unfeasible, he argues that it is the only thing likely to work.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Historically Important

While an undergraduate I read the key works of Aquinas, Hume, Smith, Bentham, Malthus, Ricardo, Jevons, Marx, Galbraith and Keynes. Read more

Published 1 day ago by M. Blum

Buy it, read it, do the math, you won't regret it.

I found this book to be amazingly thorough. Piketty takes you through an imense amount of data, clarifies the conclusions that can and cannot be drawn, and does it all without... Read more

Published 6 days ago by Bob Greaves, the unconventional pastor

One of the best books on economics

IS well resesrched and well writtenparticularly good and explaining the relationships between caoial and labor and how inequality develops

Published 16 days ago by David Eberle

Thorough, clear, and understandable

I did not take any courses in economics in college, I'm not someone who had a lot of previous knowledge of economics, and I found the book very understandable, very clear, and... Read more

Published 21 days ago by Spenser

I'm surprised Bernie Sanders doesn't quote this book.

It wasn't a quick read by any means; it was slow going but not hard to understand. It suggests a depressing thought, that the rapid economic growth from 1950-2000 may have been... Read more

Published 22 days ago by David Grant

Three Stars

Purchased for school, it is what it is.

Published 22 days ago by Liz M.

Five Stars

Not an easy read, but a necessary read.

Published 23 days ago by Amazon Customer

Good book if you enjoy economics and the study of ...

Good book if you enjoy economics and the study of different aspects of economics. This book studies income inequality and how it has changed from the past to present and the author... Read more

Published 26 days ago by Nicholas

Four Stars

Published 1 month ago by Peter J. Kornicker

Drivel

There's always been a problem for English language readers attempting to read, let alone stay awake or even understand, books originally written in French. Read more

Published 1 month ago by El Aparato SuperSónico

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